Easel.



BASEL- APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 10 1908.

Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

W/TNESSES A TTOHNE Y S- GENEVIEVE soo'rn, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

EASEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

Application filed January 10, 1908. Serial No. 410,097.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GENEVIEVE Boo'rn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of -Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Easel, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in devices for use in sup orting )ictures, pamphlets, books, and the ike, and relates more particularly to that type of holder formed of sheet metal and serving not only to support the picture, pain hlet, book, or copy, in a substantially uprig it position, but also serving to hold it in an open position.

One object of the invention is to provide certain improvements whereby the support is formed from the same sheet of metal as the backing, and whereby the sup ort may be folded into the lane of the bac 'ng, or may be rigidly and 1rmly secured at a predetermined angle in respect thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide certain improvements in the bracing means whereby the latter occupies the minimum amount of space when the device is in its folded position.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved device in its operative position; Fig. 2 is a vertical section at ri ht angles to the plane of the backin and ig. 3 1s a detail view of a portion 0 the rear side with the parts in the folded position.

In the preferred form, the easel or holder includes a backing 10, formed of sheet metal ..-of the open and of a sufiicient size to support the book, picture, pamphlet, or the like, for which the device is designed. At the lower end of the backing 10, the metal is bent at substantiall ri ht an Ice to form a ledge 11, of a width sn stantiall e ual to the normal thickness hodir or picture, and at the front edge of the ledge 11, the metal is bent downwardly again to form a flange 12, substantially parallel to the body of the backin The lower edge of this flange engages wit the table or other support, and from this lower supporting edge the metal is folded back upon itself to form a front plate 13, parallel to and in engagement with the flange 12,

and substantially parallel to the backing 10 but spaced therefrom a distance equal to the width of the ledge 11. The upper edges of the backing and of the front plate 13 may, if

desired, be folded back upon themselves to reinforce the device and to also eliminate the shar edges. The face plate 13 ma if desire be provided with any suitable esign or ornamentation.

For su porting the backing, a large central rectangu ar portion of the latter is cut out and hinged to the backing at the upper edge of the opening formed, to constitute a support 14. The openin from which the support is cut and also t e sup ort may be of any desired width less than t 0 width of the backing, and may extend from the angle of intersection between the backing 10 and the ledge 11 any desired proportion of the distance to the top edge of the former. As shown, the support is of approximately onehalf the height of the backing. At the upper edge of the sup ort 14, the latter is so cut in separating it rom the backing, as to leave hinge straps 15 integral with the support and binge straps 16 integral with the Jacking. These hinge straps are bent around a hinge pin 17 and folded back upon themselves, whereby the support is hinged to the backing and movable into the opening from which said support was origins ly removed, and thus into the .plane of the backing. The hinge pin preferably lies at the rear side of the support and backing.

For holding the support rigid in respect to the backing and at the desired angle in respect thereto, I preferably provide a brace 18, formed of a narrowstrip of spring metal and having one end thereof riveted or otherwise rigidly securcd to the support 14, intermediate the ends of the latter. The upper end of the brace is bent at an angle to the body of the brace to form a catch or hook 19, and the backing is provided with an opening 20, so located as to receive this catch or hook. Intermediate the ends of the brace, the latter is provided with an outwardly-curved or tion 21, forming a recess in the inner si e of the brace, so located as to receive the hinge pin when the easel or holder is in its folded position. With the device in its 0 en position, as shown in Fi s. 1 and 2, t e brace serves to hold the baciing and support rigid in respect to each other, as the resiliency of the brace holds the upper end thereof within the opening 20. When the upper end of the brace is forced out of the opening, the spring brace forces the su port into the lane of the backing, and the grace lies close y adjacent the rear surface of both, the hingepin 1 7 lying within the recess in the brace as illustrated in Fi 3.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination, two members, one of which comprises a back and the other of which comprises a. support hinged thereto intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and a brace for holding the support and back rigid in respect to each other said brace having one end thereof secured to one of said members at one side of the bin e and havin the other end thereof provide with a catch adapted for reception in an opening in the other member at the opposite side of the hinge.

2. In combination, two members, one of which comprises a back and the other of which comprises a support hinged thereto intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and a brace for holding the support and back rigid in respect to each other said brace having one end thereof secured to one of said members at one side of the hin e and adapted to be detachably secured to tin her at the o posite side of the hinge, said brace bein f drmed with a recess intermediate its en s for the reception of the hinge when the device is in its folded position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GENEVIEVE BOQTH.

Witnesses Fnnnnnw K. WARD, Sornrn FERNOW.

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